Sanga, Mahela come good

Captain Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene scored half-centuries to steer Sri Lanka to 165-3 in reply to West Indies' 580-9 before rain brought an early end to play on day three of the first test yesterday.

Sri Lanka went to lunch on 148-3 but only 25 deliveries were possible after lunch when bad light stopped play.

The rain then started and persisted through the scheduled second session, forcing Australian match referee Alan Hurst to soon call off the day's play.

Jayawardene was unbeaten on 51, his 37th test half-century, with Thilan Samaraweera on 11 at stumps.

Resuming yesterday at 54-1, the hosts added only seven run before opener Tharanga Paranavitana (10) was bowled out by the seamer Kemar Roach.

Sangakkara hit an aggressive 73, his 34th half-century, before being bowled by Dwayne Bravo with a yorker. He and Jayawardene shared 71 runs defending the third wicket. Sangakkara's 102-ball innings also included 11 boundaries.

Bravo obtained the best bowling figures of the day, with one wicket for only 18 runs conceded.

Chris Gayle's career-best 333 allowed West Indies to declare its first innings on 580-9 on Tuesday.

It was the best total by any West Indies team against Sri Lanka in history. Gayle also became the fourth test player to hit two triple-hundreds for his country, and the first West Indian to achieve the landmark score in a test away from home.